I had the pleasure of revisiting one of my favorite restaurants, Le Bernardin in New York City, a few weeks ago. I’ve been lucky enough to have celebrated a few milestones tucked into its chairs or toasting from its banquettes. It remains tastefully dark, lushly carpeted and understatedly delicious, and I remain utterly impressed. All of the staff (and there are quite a lot of them) conjure a magical mix of casual perfection that makes the whole dining experience both relaxing and exceptional. My husband, sister and I had the Chef’s Tasting Menu, consisting of eight courses, heavy on the seafood.
The very first course was probably my favorite of the whole evening - yellowfin tuna served as a carpaccio and tiny chunks of salty sweet Iberico ham “chutney.” This extremely simple preparation of unlikely bedfellows made for stunning plating and a refreshing start to the meal. This is a dish I would happily eat every day (although I’d need about four Le Bernardin-sized servings to make a meal of it)!
The second course was kingfish with caviar and one of my favorite sauces. One of the unique delights of Le Bernardin is that most dishes are served with an accompanying sauce poured tableside. All of the fish is fairly simply prepared to highlight the lovely quality and freshness, so the accompanying sauces are essential in adding complexity to the flavor profile of each dish and really elevating the sensory experience of the fish or seafood. The cool, buttery, kingfish sashimi was topped with a dollop of briny caviar and then set swimming in a warm bath of tangy mariniere broth and bits of toast for dipping.
Next up was a langoustine studded with a chunk of foie gras, seared and served with a sauce perigord. The beautifully arranged hon shimeji mushrooms were soon drowned in the truffled deliciousness of the perigord sauce, pushing an already decadent shrimp meets shore dish way over the top.
Fourth was a lacquered lobster tail paired with an herb spring roll and a lemon consume broth.
Then poached halibut served with manila clams and a wild mushroom casserole.
And a final savory course of white tuna, fresh kimchi and seared Wagyu beef.
All topped off with double desserts!
A ginger scented apple “bomb” with a side of ricotta financiers.
And a final assortment of petit fours.
Truly fine dining can be as much about what a chef doesn’t do to the food as what he or she does do, and Le Bernardin is a fine example of a less-is-more approach to seafood (if decadently rich broth accompaniments for each dish count as less!) The chef’s mastery of fundamental preparations--searing, poaching, filleting--combined with products of exceptional quality, reminds us all how powerful and relevant classic technique will always be. The most outstanding dishes of the evening were the simplest--dishes that might even tempt the home chef into trying themselves!
Take a stab at some Le Bernardin-style technique in our The Chopping Block's kitchens with our Seafood 101 cooking class, Meat 101 cooking class, Cooking Lab: Flavor Dynamics and our Culinary Boot Camps.
